Books Featuring Mental Health – Top 5 Wednesday

Unfortunately I don’t read that many mental health books. Usually because they tend to be contemporaries which I just don’t read that much of. So I really don’t have lesser known books on this list. These are in no particular order.

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Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie has a stutter. While stuttering does not in most cases have a psychological cause, there is a subset of stuttering called psychogenic stuttering which usually occurs as a result of trauma. It’s not explicitly said in the book whether that is the case with Sadie, but I think it is. It might not have been the author’s intention. But whether or not her stutter is psychogenic, I’ve read a book with stuttering represented and it definitely has an impact on Sadie’s mental state and image of herself and of those around her. So I think it falls in the ballpark and I just wanted to promote this book because I think it’s great.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Both Feyre and Rhys suffer from PTSD. I’ve talked about this book so much. You probably all know about it.

The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare

Ty is autistic and I think he does also seem to have some OCD and anxiety disorder. He’s probably one of my favourite characters in the series. I seriously need to read the last book in the series. But my heart isn’t ready. 😥

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

I haven’t yet read this book, but I know the main character has OCD and I know John Green also has OCD, so I’m confident that this is accurate rep for the disorder. And I’ve heard a lot of good things about it as well, so I’m comfortable recommending it as a mental health featuring book.

The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

All the demigods have ADHD. And it’s a great series.

 

Series I need to finish Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

It’s been ages since I’ve done one of these and needless to say, I have a ton of new series that I need to finish. But I am proud to say that  I’ve either finished or decided I won’t continue most of the series in the previous posts (Except Daughter of Smoke and bone I’M SORRY! I’ll finish it one day, I promise!). In the interest of not making this post 100000 books long, I’ll limit myself to series that are completed as of right now.

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The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare

Still need to read the final book. I know. What am I doing? I even own it. I’m just not prepared for it okay. I’m not ready.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Same goes for Kingdom of Ash. I’m just not ready to read this book. I will. Sometime. I promise.

The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I started reading Obsidio and wasn’t enjoying it as much as the previous books. I will probably enjoy it more once I get more into it, but I haven’t been in the mood for it.

The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

I’ve read the first two books. I don’t like it as much as I liked PJ, but I want to read it so I can get on to the Apollo books. I’m still enjoying them, but I’m just not picking them up very frequently. I still have 3 books left 😦 I also don’t own them and I’ve been trying to not buy books until I get my TBR down a bit. So every time I think about getting the next one, I’m reluctant to because of that.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I’ve read the first two books. Just one more to go. I really enjoyed this series, so I need to get on with it! I know that there’re a new trilogy or a continuation and those are not all out yet. But I don’t know if I’m going to read that. I’ll decide once I’ve finished the original trilogy.

The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence

Only read the first book. I didn’t love it as much as his other series. At this point, I do still want to continue with this series. But I might change my mind. We’ll see.

Dreamblood by N. K. Jemisin

Read the first book and really enjoyed it (though not as much as The Broken Earth). I still want to read the second one though.

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Those are all the ones that I could remember. There are probably more. And more still that are ongoing, but I’ve yet to catch up with. But we’ll stop here. Cause I can already feel the anxiety mounting.

January-March 2019 Wrap Up

Ssooo… I have been severely neglecting my blog. It’s been a long few months. But I have actually read a decent amount of books. So be prepared for a massive wrap up.

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Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

I started the year with a Brandon Sanderson book because that’s always a nice start to the year. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed Mistborn. Which is what I was expecting anyway. I am wholly satisfied with this book and if there will ever be a sequel to it, I am here for it. It’s not as well written as Mistborn, but it has a fascinating magic system and I would love to learn more about it. 4/5 stars

Saga Vol. 1-3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I’ve read quite a lot of graphic novels this year and I have been especially loving Saga. I’m trying to pace myself with reading it because it’s currently on hiatus and I don’t want to have to wait ages. But the world and story is just so cool and creative. The art is also nice, it’s not the best I’ve seen, but it’s very creative and it’s not by any means bad.

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

I actually finished this series, but I read the final book in April, so I’ll save it for the next wrap up. But this was actually my favourite in the series. I mean, this whole series is just so good and underrated in my opinion. It’s one of the best sci-fi series I’ve read recently. I’ve reviewed the whole series if you want to know more of my thoughts. I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Second Sanderson book of the year. I am on a roll with continuing with series/reading books by authors I know I enjoy. Which is something I’ve been wanting to do more. Not that I don’t like discovering new authors. But there’s just something satisfying about reading all or most of the works of an author. It just gives me a sense of accomplishment and when I also really love all the books, it’s even better. Anyway, I wasn’t disappointed by this one. I was a bit apprehensive because it’s a different genre from any of the other Sanderson books I’d read before, but I really shouldn’t have been. It was a bit slow to begin, but otherwise was great. I have a review of it if you want to hear more of my thoughts. 4.5/5 stars.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

I enjoyed this more than I liked The Lost Hero, but still not as much as I enjoyed the Percy Jackson series. I know it’s generally agreed that Percy Jackson is better, so I was expecting thins. But it does mean that I’m less inclined to get through them quickly. Which annoys me, because I really want to get to the Apollo books. 3.75/5

Vengeful by V. E. Schwab

This book wasn’t what I expected. I still enjoyed it, but it didn’t feel the same as the first one a d I definitely liked Vicious better. The most disappointing part of the book was the ending. It just was so anticlimactic. I gave it 4/5 stars, but now in hindsight it’s more of a 3.5 really.

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Finally carrying on with this series! Once again, the physical book itslef was just a masterpiece. I think I like this one even more from that aspect, than Illuminae, because it’s blue and has drawings in it and blue is better than orange any day. I didn’t like the content as much as I liked Illuminae, but it was still pretty great. I have a review of this if you want to know more of my thoughts. 4/5 stars.

Monstress Vol. 1 by Marjorie Liu

Another graphic novel series I started this year. And it is so good. I’m struggling to pace myself, since there are only 3 volumes out at the moment and I don’t know when the next one will be out. But it’s such a cool world and story and the art is amazing! 5/5 stars

Avatar: The Last Airbender Graphic Novels

So… I re-watched the show again. I don’t have a problem, shut up. And after re-watching the show, I wanted more, so I re-read The Lost Adventures graphic novel. Then I re-read The Promise Part 1 and went on and bought The Promise Part 2 and read it as well. If graphic novels weren’t so expensive, I’d just binge read the lot of them, but alas…

The Broken Earth by N. K. Jemisin

Lots of re-reads for me so far. I listened to all of these on audio, because the audiobooks are amazing and this series is amazing and if you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for? I have both a spoiler free review and a spoilery rave if you want more of my thoughts on it.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

My first Ursula K. Le Guin book. I audiobooked it and it was okay. I enjoyed it. But it was kind of… vague? I don’t know, I would have wanted more information about the world, about how the magic works and about what exactly was going on. It was just kind of vague. I know there are more Earthsea books, but I’m not sure they follow the same characters. I still enjoyed it, I gave it 3/5 stars, but I was just expecting more from it.

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Finally, I listened to the final three Harry Potter books, because they’re like comfort food and I needed some comfort in my life.

Do I Have That Book Challenge

I saw this tag on YouTube and I thought it was fun, so I’m gonna do it. I will link to the creator’s video.

This tag has 20 questions about what books I own. I feel it works better in video format. But Whatever, I still want to do it.

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1. A book with deckled edges

YES. I may have more than one, but the one that comes to mind at the moment is Jesus Freaks by DC Talk.

Couldn’t find a picture where you can see the deckled pages, but it’s got them. I promise.

2. A book with 3 or more people on the cover

YES! A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle. Has 3 people on it.

3. A book based on another fictional story

Do I? Do I really? How about The Wrath and the Dawn? Arabian nights retelling. Percy Jackson? Magnus Chase? ACOTAR? Cruel Beauty? Could go on, but you guys get the point. I have A LOT of retellings.

 

4. A book with a title 10 letters long

I’m gonna say it has to be 1 word, just to make it more difficult. And I’m gonna go with Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.

5. A book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Starts and ends with a T. And just because I know some people are going to be picky about me including the article, here’s another: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

6. A mass market paperback

Yes. All of my Lord of the Rings and one of my copies of The Hobbit.

7. A book by an author using a pen name

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll. His real name was Charles Dodgson.

 

8. A book with a character’s name in the title

Looking for Alaska by John Green. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury. The main character is named Sorrow. Weird, I know. Marissa Meyer’s books also. Could probably go on, but we’ll stoop here.

 

9. A book with two maps in it

Probably have loads of these as well, but I’m too lazy to check so we’ll go with Elantris by Brandon Sanderson because I’m currently reading it. And it has not two, but three maps in it. Wait… does that mean it doesn’t fulfill the challenge? Like does it have to be 2, no more no less? If that’s the case, I will go with A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas.

10. A book that was turned into a TV show

A Game of Thrones by G. R. R. Martin.

11. A book written by someone who was originally famous for something else?

Relativity by Albert Einstein. Cause he was famous for science. So, I’m counting it.

12. A book with a clock on the cover

This is going to take some thinking. Just One damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. That’s kind of a clock. If you don’t like that, I got Clockwork Angel that’s got Big Ben in the background. No one can argue with Big Ben.

13. A poetry book

I have several, but I’ll go with Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur because I’ve read and loved it.

14. A book with an award stamp on it

Ok, I’m bitter about this question because I have loads of books that have won prizes. But the stickers/stamps annoy me, so I tend to buy editions that don’t have them. I’m going to have to delve deep for this one.

I have The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin. It’s not actually a sticker, nor is it a stamp. It’s just printed on the cover. But I’m going with it.

15. A book written by an author with the same initials as you?

I actually don’t. 😥 My initials are RP and I have no books written by an author with the same initials. I do have books written by a PR. But no RP. So I’m gonna give myself half a point for this, cause the right letters, just wrong order and go with The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

16. A book of short stories

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo.

17. A book between 500 and 510 pages.

Pfft, easy. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. Exactly 510 pages (just got it in a subscription box yesterday and I SQUEALED!).

18. A book that was turned into a movie

I have like 20. But I’ll go with The Lord of the Rings because that’s my favourite adaptation.

19. A graphic novel

Indeed I do. Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel. 

20. A book written by two or more authors

This was a long tag. I do indeed have several books that are co-authored. Including Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

This was fun. I got 19.5 out of 20 points. So… not bad. Let me know what you guys got!

 

Top 5 Auto-Buy SFF Authors – Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Thoughts on Tomes. This week’s topic is auto-buy science-fiction & fantasy authors.

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First, a couple of honourable mentions:

Laini Taylor

Her writing is so beautiful and magical and poetic and her ideas always so creative, sign me up. I’ve only read 3 of her books, but I definitely plan on reading all of them and whatever new she comes out with.

Patrick Rothfuss

The only books he has out as far as I’m aware are The Kingkiller books and I don’t know whether he has any plans of putting out books once that series is completed. Having said that, if he does, I will definitely read them.

5. Cassandra Clare

She’s mostly an auto-buy for Shadowhunter books. I have read The Iron Trial and enjoyed it, but that is to date the only non Shadowhunter book of hers that I’ve read. I might read more of them in the future, but I haven’t bought every book of hers as it came out, which is why she’s number 5.

4. Sarah J. Maas

I have loved both of her series and will still automatically buy anything she comes out with, however I’ve been a little disappointed with her last couple of releases, which is why she’s lower on the list than would be expected considering how much I love particularly ACOMAF.

3. Rick Riordan

I love his books so much. I still have a lot of them to read, but they’re all on my list and his new ones are all on my list. Everything that has his name on it is on my list, really. Including the books in his new imprint thing.

2. Leigh Bardugo

I still have to catch up with the Grisha trilogy and admittedly, I didn’t love Shadow and Bone as much as I’ve loved all her other books, but… I’ve loved all her other books and she can only grow as an author. So anything that she comes out with is on my list.

3. Victoria Schwab

Honestly, she’s probably my favourite author at the moment. I have not read a single book by her that I haven’t loved and the few I still need to read, I have no doubt I will love as well.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan – Spoiler Free Book Review

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: Fantasy, YA

First published: 2010

Author: Rick Riordan

Synopsis: When Jason, Piper and Leo crash land at Camp Half-Blood, they have no idea what to expect. Apparently this is the only safe place for children of the Greek Gods – despite the monsters roaming the woods and demigods practising archery with flaming arrows and explosives. But rumours of a terrible curse – and a missing hero – are flying around camp. It seems Jason, Piper and Leo are the chosen ones to embark on a terrifying new quest, which they must complete by the winter solstice. In just four days time. Can the trio succeed on this deadly mission – and what must they sacrifice in order to survive?

***SPOILER ALERT*** There may be minor spoilers for the Percy Jackson series ahead.

Book Depository | Goodreads

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This is by far my least favourite Rick Riordan book that I have read to date. I mean… it’s still good, but by Rick Riordan standards, it’s just meh.

I know for a lot of people, this book is meh because all the beloved Percy Jackson characters they’ve grown attached to over the course of 5 books are now suddenly minor side-characters. But I knew that going into this book, so that wasn’t it for me. I liked the new characters as much as I liked the old. Maybe even more, if I’m being honest. I never had the huge love of Percy that so many of the series’ fans seem to hold. I like him, but I don’t love him. I actually liked Jason more than Percy and Piper more than Annabeth and Leo more than Grover. And I loved Coach Hedge. He was hilarious.

I’m actually not sure what the main issue for me was. Maybe the story? But no, it was pretty much like all Rick Riordan stories. Crazy, funny, full of action and mythology. The plot was nicely woven with the previous books and the rest of the series was nicely set up. The writing was as good as ever, so that can’t be it either. Looking at the individual parts of this book, I can’t really find fault with them. But put together, they just didn’t work as well as they usually do. I don’t know why. It’s kind of like a drawing of a face where if you look at each individual part of the face, it’s great, but when you look at the whole thing, something just looks askew.

Overall, I found the book to be a bit boring, though there were plenty of things going on. Maybe it was something to do with the pacing. It just felt like things were happening off beat. All the notes were there, but they were played at the wrong time. The whole book just felt a little off. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series though, and hopefully this won’t be an issue that I have with all the books.

This is a rather short review, but I don’t have much to say about it. I can’t really put my finger on what I disliked, but I disliked something about it. Still, this is a Rick Riordan book, so it’s by no means bad. Just worse than the rest of them.

January 2018 Wrap Up

I read 6 books in the month of January, which considering how busy I’ve been, is a decent start to the year. I’m still desperately behind on my book reviews, but alas, there’s only so much I have energy for. I’ll get there in the end. Anyway, on to the wrap up.

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The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I’d like to say this was a good book to start the year with, but unfortunately this is probably my least favourite Rick Riordan book that I’ve read to date. I still enjoyed it, and if it were any other author, I’d have given it a much higher rating, but I’ve come to expect a certain level of awesome from Rick Riordan and this one wasn’t on par. I ended up giving it 3/5 stars.

The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis never disappoints. He had a gift for explaining complex ideas simply and lucidly and relatable-y. 5/5 stars

Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley

A friend lent me this graphic novel and I read it in one sitting. I enjoyed it, it’s kind of weird but it works. It conveys its point well. It’s very angsty, but ultimately very relatable because I feel like everyone has those kinds of moments of just… feeling lost at sea and wondering whether they’re going insane. 4/5 stars.

Destroyer Down by Scott Beatty

I got this in a LootCrate and I was in the mood for a quick read, so I flew through this. I still have to see the newest Star Wars film and this just whetted my appetite for it even more. Even though I’ve heard a lot of people were disappointed by it, so I’m a bit worried. Anyway, I enjoyed the graphic novel. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

I finally continued with this series. And I loved this one even more than i loved the first one. I really should have read this ages ago, but at least I have now. I’ll hopefully get to the rest of the series soon. 5/5 stars.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

I love Brian Selznick’s books. I bought this for a friend’s birthday and couldn’t help but read it before actually giving it to her (I made sure it was pristine). His books are just so unique and cool and beautiful. They’re also very educational and just all around great to experience. I can’t wait to read the rest of his works. 5/5 stars

Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan – Spoiler Free Book Review

Rating: 5/5 stars

Genre: YA, fantasy, mythology

First published: 2015

Author: Rick Riordan

Synopsis: My name is Magnus Chase. I’m orphaned and living rough on the streets of Boston. And things are about to get much worse.

My day started out normally enough. I was sleeping under a bridge when some guy kicked me awake and said, ‘They’re after you.’ Next thing I know, I’m reunited with my obnoxious uncle, who casually informs me that my long-lost father is a Norse god.

Nothing normal about that. And it turns out the gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Apparently, if I can’t find the sword my father lost two thousand years ago, there will be doom. Doomsday, to be precise.

A fire giant attacking the city?

Immortal warriors hacking each other to pieces?

Unkillable wolves with glowing eyes?

It’s all coming up.

But first I’m going to die. This is the story of how my life goes downhill from there… 

Book Depository | Goodreads

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This is my favourite Rick Riordan book that I’ve read so far. I feel about Magnus Chase the same way a lot of people feel about Percy Jackson. I never loved Percy. I mean, I like him, but I don’t love him.

First of all, I love Norse mythology. So just that alone sold me on it. And somehow, I feel like Rick Riordan does Norse mythology even better than he does Greek mythology. Although that may have something to do with the fact that Norse mythology is just cooler anyway. this book was so much fun though and I learnt new things about Norse mythology. It just made me happy.

I love how we get the Norse world co-existing with the Greek world and all the other pantheons. I’m currently reading The Lost Hero and the more of Riordan’s books I read, the more I notice this interweaving and I love it and I’m really curious to read some of the cross-over stories. Anyway, I digress.

One of my favourite things about this book (aside from the mythology and Magnus) was that there wasn’t a romance between the male and female main characters. They’re just genuinely good friends and I really enjoyed that. Unfortunately, it’s not very often that you get to see male/female friendships that are well explored and focal to the story. And I love those kinds of friendships. I crave them. So this was a balm for my soul.

I don’t know if it’s just because I enjoyed this book more than his other books, but I found it to be even funnier than the Percy Jackson books. Magnus was so funny and his humour just got me. He’s very sardonic and dry and I love that. It speaks to me, we understand each other, we speak the same language. I just really want to be friends with Magnus.

Diversity man! We get some diversity. We get a muslim main character and a deaf supporting character, but those things aren’t really the focus. And I love that. They’re not the dominant characteristic of that character, as it often happens. They’re just realities and they’re acknowledged and incorporated into the character’s lives and personalities, but they’re not defining.

So yeah, I cannot wait to continue with this series. I’m actually really sad because I think there are only 3 books, I need more than 3 books. Percy Jackson got like… 10. Petition for more Magnus Chase!

December 2017 Book Haul

I bought a bunch of books again… ’tis the season, after all.

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All Fall Down by Ally Carter | See How They Run by Ally Carter | Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter | Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter | Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Ok, in my defense, I won the Ally Carter ones in a giveaway.

Vicious by V. E. Schwab | The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin |The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin | The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan | A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi | The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Autumn 2017 Wrap Up

Since I haven’t really been reading much, I’ll stick to doing seasonal wrap-ups. I’ve read 9 books since September and I haven’t got reviews for most of them because I am sooooo behind with my reviews.

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phenix & Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

I’ve been making my way through the series as audiobooks this time and I’m quite enjoying them. Most books don’t work really well on audio for me, but these ones are really good. They’re narrated by Stephen Fry and he’s doing a very good job of bringing this beloved world to life. His kids must have had some great bedtime story experiences.

5/5 stars of course.

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

Another delightful book by Jay Kristoff. I can’t get enough of this series and I can’t get enough of Kristoff. I really need to read the next of his books while I wait for the next installment of this series to come out. I actually do have a review of this one, and I believe this is the only book in this list I have currently reviewed (I know, I’m very behind). You can check that review out here if you are interested. Also, look how beautiful that cover is!

5/5 stars

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I kept putting this book off for ages, thinking that I wouldn’t enjoy it that much (I don’t even know why), but it quickly became one of my favourites ever. It’s so much fun to read and I love the characters so much. I’m currently reading the second book in the series and I can’t wait to finish it and finish the whole series (if it comes out anytime in my life time, that is). There are so many things that I’m super curious about and I can’t wait to learn about them.

5/5 stars

Miracles by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis is one of my favourite authors ever. His non-fiction books are so poignant and lucid and well written, it’s just a joy to read them. Miracles is no exception, I honestly and wholeheartedly recommend C.S. Lewis to anyone who likes being challenged to think and be critical.

5/5 stars

 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Another brilliant book. I seem to have only read amazing, 5 star books these past few months. Which is a good thing, because I didn’t get to read that many. So at least they were good. This book was so beautiful, it even made me cry at some point. It was just so lovely and magical and just all around good. I was a bit skeptical about it to be honest, but I loved it and I can’t wait to read more Naomi Novik.

5/5 stars

Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer

This is probably my favourite Rick Riordan book that I’ve read so far. Norse mythology is even better than Greek mythology for many reasons, but one of them (and the one that was most distinctly felt in this book) is that it’s just so much weirder. And that gives so much more opportunity for the humour that, let’s be honest, is a huge part of why Rick Riordan’s books are so popular. This series is also a lot darker than Percy Jackson, which I really enjoyed as well.

55 stars

Duplicity by Sibel Hodge

This book was awful. That 5 star streak was lovely, but it couldn’t last. I audiobooked this and I got it for free, so I’m not too bummed about it. But it was just so bad. It was one, giant ridiculous, predictable cliche. I either hated all the characters or just didn’t care about them, because they were bland, one dimensional. The plot was predictable and had some gaping chasms in it and the narration was mediocre at best and what’s sad is that it’s because it was an audiobook that it even got 1.5 stars. It just made it bearable.

1.5/5 stars

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I audiobooked this one as well. I’ve been on an audio kick. Unfortunately, I’m not really loving the narration. I love The Hunger Games, so I can move past it and just enjoy the story, but the narrator is so annoying. She makes Katniss (and almost everyone else) sound like a simpering moron. I don’t know why, but I just hate her narration. So because of that, I’m only giving it 4 stars, even though the story deserves 5 and I have rated it 5 stars on my previous reads.

4/5 stars